Repressed Memories
by disneyevilqueen
Summary: A new missing person's case hits Storybrooke, digging up demons from Emma's past. Will her repressed memories help solve the case in time, or be her downfall?
1. Missing

**New story! Don't worry, I'll be writing the next installments in my other universes after this one. Enjoy!**

As soon as Emma entered the station she knew that it was going to be a bad day. There were crying parents sitting in front of David's desk, and evidence boxes being brought in one after another by the dwarfs who had become honorary sheriffs to help with big cases.

Emma glanced over at the boxes that Leroy was bringing in, wincing slightly at seeing the pink backpack inside. This one wasn't going to be fun. She walked over to David's desk, smiling gently at the parents. "Hi. Sorry I got here later than usual."

"Don't worry about it," the mother said, sniffing. "There's not much that you can do anyway. The car drove over the town line."

"Car?" Emma asked. "What car?"

"The car that took our daughter," the father piped in, rubbing his wife's arms to sooth her. "I'm sorry, we should start at the beginning. I'm Jackson and this is Mary. Our daughter Liza was kidnapped."

Mary let out a sob before speaking again. "Right in front of us."

Emma grabbed a tissue from the box on David's desk before handing it to her. "Why don't we all get situated and then you can tell us everything that happened."

* * *

"How are we supposed to help them?" Emma asked, watching Jackson and Mary leave. "We have absolutely nothing that helps us."

"Not true," David said, sitting down at his desk and turning his computer on. "I searched for similar cases like this and found one that fits the exact story that they just told us. Only this one happened in California."

Emma looked at him in confusion. "Why would two cases happen completely across the country from one another?"

"No idea," David said, shrugging. "I'll print off the file for us to look over and everything." He glanced at the clock before smirking at Emma. "You may want to either head home or give Regina a call before she comes here and kills you."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You don't need to act so smug. Have you seen the stuff we deal with? She just wants to make sure that I'm safe."

"I know," David said, laughing. He went to get the papers from the printer, frowning as he flipped through the pages. "That's odd."

"What is?" Emma asked, pausing in her actions to call Regina. There was no way she would be home for dinner. This case was already too important. If someone was taking girls from town and then leaving, that was a huge issue.

"There was a witness to the case in California," David said. "But it says that she refused to be interviewed. Why would someone do that?"

"Protecting the kidnapper?" Emma guessed.

David shook his head. "It was a little girl. She was out bike riding with her friend when her friend were kidnapped. She chased the car but couldn't keep up. Reported the incident, but didn't want to be interviewed."

"Does it say why?" Emma asked.

"Something about not remembering what happened," David said. "She remembered that something bad had happened while she was out riding her bike, but that's it. Didn't even remember the name of her friend who was taken. Poor little girl."

Emma froze. "You know, I think I'm gonna go home for dinner. Get my mind off of everything." Without another word, she poofed away.

David looked at the spot where she had previously been at. "That was weird."

* * *

Emma stood at the edge of the water, picking up rocks to throw. The splash of the rocks into the water was oddly satisfying, an idea that Regina would no doubt make fun of her for. They had been dating for only a few months, but really they were the last ones to the party. Even those in town had started to make bets on when they would get together.

By the time they did get together, they had gone on more dates than more married couples did without even realizing they were going on dates.

"You don't throw as far when you're upset," Regina said, walking up to stand next to Emma.

"How'd you find me?" Emma asked, throwing her last rock and rubbing her hands together to get the sand off.

"Word spreads fast in a small town," Regina said. "You always come here when you're upset about a case that you can't solve."

Emma smiled. "You know me too well."

"Mission accomplished," Regina teased. "Come on, let's go home. There's dinner waiting for us, along with a very hungry son who will be most displeased if the food goes cold before we get to eat."

"We both have magic," Emma pointed out, lacing her fingers with Regina's and beginning to walk away from the water. "It isn't that hard to heat up food."

Regina laughed. "I distinctly remember the last time that you tried to heat up food it didn't go very well. Just stick to the microwave."

Emma blushed. "I didn't realize that magical flames were so touchy, okay?"

Regina just laughed again and squeezed her hand gently.

* * *

The first vision came the next morning after talking to Jackson. He had been the one who had chased after the car.

"I saw the car and everything, I already gave my report on that," Jackson said. "But whatever else I can help with, I will."

"You daughter is 11 years old, correct?" Emma asked. Jackson nodded. "Did she have problems with anyone at school?"

Jackson looked confused. "What would that have to do with Liza being kidnapped? Other kids wouldn't take her."

"No, but they could have older siblings or parents who wanted revenge," Emma pointed out. "We're just trying to cross everything off of our list to find her."

"Of course," Jackson said. "Honestly, it's hard to remember everything. It all just happened so fast. One moment we were off riding our bikes together and having a great time, and the next Liza is screaming and the car zoomed away with her inside."

He started to get teary-eyed, so Emma handed him a tissue. "I'm so sorry. I promise that we're going to do everything in our power to find her."

David knocked on the door, apologizing as he stuck his head in. "Can I borrow you for one second?"

Emma nodded before getting up and following David outside. "What's up?"

"We need to find this little girl, and fast," David said, He handed Emma a photo. "Body was found this morning. It's the first girl that went missing in California."

"Out with the old and in with the new," Emma mumbled, taking the photo from David and studying it. "Don't tell Jackson or Mary about this. We don't need them panicking."

David nodded. "I'll finish up with Jackson, read through the rest of the file."

"Deal," Emma said. She didn't know how much longer she could take having to interview the distraught father anymore. It was starting to get to her. She sat at her desk, looking over the California file. As she was looking at the photos from the more recent crime scene, the vision hit.

* * *

" _Come on, we have to get back before it gets too dark!" Emma called ahead of her. "Avery, did you hear me? We have to head home!"_

" _I heard you, I'm just ignoring you!" Avery called back, laughing. "Come on, live it up a little bit. We're almost teenagers!"_

 _Emma rolled her eyes, but kept pedaling. That was when the car pulled up. In 5 seconds, Avery was gone._

* * *

Emma was shaking. She didn't know when that had happened. Suddenly feeling nauseous, she put down the file before running to the bathroom and throwing up. What was that? Why was she putting herself in the situation of Jackson and Mary? And who was Avery?

"Emma?" David called, knocking on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Emma called back. "Just something I ate I think. Or a bug. You might want to stay away just in case. Would hate to give you something during an investigation this big."

David rolled his eyes at Emma's lie before pulling out his phone and texting Regina. "Okay, take your time." No sooner had he finished than the door opened to reveal a very pale but mostly okay Emma.

"I'm good," Emma said, brushing past him. "Let's get back to work."

David stared after her with a worried look on his face. Something was going on.


	2. Progress

**Hey everyone! So sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but I was busy with summer classes and then studying for a huge test for the next level of teaching. Anywho, here's the next chapter! Enjoy :)**

Regina walked into the station and immediately noticed how pale that Emma was. David had texted her that something had happened with Emma after her interview with Jackson, and that she had used her typical excuse of catching a bug or eating something bad. Classic Emma.

As Regina walked closer to Emma's desk, it was apparent that Emma was stuck in her own head. Normally she would notice Regina right away and would light up. This time, she kept staring at a case file with an expression on her face that Regina couldn't read.

Clearing her throat to get Emma's attention, Regina spoke gently. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Emma asked.

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma's defensive answer. "Because you look incredibly pale and David texted that he heard you throwing up." She held up her hand as Emma went to speak. "And we both know that you don't have a bug or ate something bad, so don't even think about using that excuse on me."

"Fine," Emma huffed. "It's this girl whose body was found. I had some sort of weird memory moment where I remembered something."

"A memory?" Regina asked. "Of what?"

Emma picked up the photo of the girl when she had first gone missing. "Her. Avery Castor. I knew her. I was with her when she was kidnapped."

Regina's jaw dropped. "You mean you remembered the moment that she was taken?"

"I don't know what I remembered," Emma said, running her fingers through her hair. "Honestly Regina, it's not that big of a deal. My mind was just probably playing tricks on me since I feel so bad for the parents."

"You need to see Archie," Regina pressed. "If that was a real memory that suddenly surfaced, who knows what else you forgot."

"No," Emma said, closing Avery's case file and setting it to the side. "Whatever I have hidden away I obviously do for a reason. Let it go."

"What if what you're remembering could help find Liza?" Regina asked. "If it's the same person-"

"No."

"Emma just listen-"

"I said no!" Emma snapped. She sighed, calming down before looking at Regina with a pleading gaze. "Please, just let it go. Whatever I have hidden away, I don't want to remember it."

Before Regina could say another word, Emma walked past her. Regina looked after her in concern before pulling out her phone and calling Archie. Whether she liked it or not, Emma needed to talk about whatever she was remembering.

* * *

When Emma got home later that night, the last thing she expected to see was Archie sitting in the living room. She and Regina had been living together for awhile, mainly because they helped each other with nightmares and it was easier with coparenting Henry.

Regina smiled guiltily at Emma as she walking in the front door. "Hi. Don't hate me."

"What did you do?" Emma asked skeptically. She walked slower into the house, preparing for something to jump out at her.

Regina gestured towards the living room. "There's someone here to see you."

The first person that Emma thought of was Snow. Their relationship was rocky at best, depending on the day. Most days, Emma could tolerate her. Others, she enjoyed planning the best ways to kill her.

Sighing, Emma walked towards the living room. When she saw who was really there, she froze. Archie just smiled at her warmly and waited for her brain to process the shock of seeing him there.

"Not to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I'm here to talk," Archie said casually. "Something is bothering you enough that your brain has made you forget the incident. Regina and I both agree that it's something that we need to work through together."

"I guess Regina didn't also transfer the message that I'm not interested," Emma warned. Archie gestured for her to sit down, but she remained standing. "You can leave. I'm not interested in whatever you have to say."

Archie sighed. "How defensive you are just proves my point. Your mind is guarding something Emma, something that was so traumatic for you that it was repressed from your memory. The fact that it is coming back now means that you're ready to deal with whatever it is."

"I think you should go," Emma said softly, looking away from him. "I'm sorry that I can't help Liza more, but I'm not ready to deal with whatever this is. Not yet."

"I understand," Archie said, standing up. "You know where to find me when you're ready."

Smiling at her, Archie walked out of the living room. Emma stood rooted to the floor until he was gone before she slowly took a seat on the couch.

Regina closed the front door behind Archie before cautiously walking towards the living room. She didn't know how Emma would react to what she had done. After all, she had brought Archie here against Emma's will.

"Ambushing someone with a therapist isn't exactly the best way to get them to talk," Emma said, leaning back into the cushions as she looked at Regina.

"I was desperate," Regina said guiltily, sitting down across from her on the coffee table. "Something is going on with you. I only want to help."

Emma shook her head affectionately. "You know as well as I do that Archie is the last person that I want to talk to."

"So talk to me," Regina suggested.

"I don't want to talk about it at all," Emma insisted. "Obviously whatever I have buried is there for a reason."

"Think about Liza," Regina pleaded. "You don't need to open your soul to me. Just let me help."

Emma sighed before getting up and leaving the room. Avery was someone who had to be important to her. Otherwise her mind wouldn't block the painful memories. Mentally exhausted from the day, she went upstairs to the bedroom that she and Regina shared before laying down and falling asleep.

* * *

 _Avery had been missing for a week and the news all over the nation was talking about it. Emma sat in front of the TV, trying her best to show very little emotion about her missing friend. She didn't want anyone to know that she had been there when Avery was taken._

 _The doorbell rang, and Emma listened as her foster mother went to answer it. She liked this house. Hopefully her social worker hadn't suddenly decided to come grab her and move her to another one._

" _Emma," Ingrid called softly. "There's someone here to see you."_

 _Emma turned around and smiled at Avery's father. "Hello Mr. Castor."_

" _Hi Emma," Mr. Castor said, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "I was wondering if you and I could talk for a little bit."_

" _About what?" Emma asked. She hoped it wasn't about when Avery was taken._

 _Mr. Castor looked at Ingrid, who took the hint and walked out of the room. "I was hoping you could tell me a little about the day that Avery went missing. I know that the two of you went out for a bike ride."_

 _Emma looked away from him. She didn't want to talk about it. She was embarrassed that she couldn't remember what happened. "I don't really want to talk about it. I'm sorry."_

" _Please," Mr. Castor pleaded. "You had to have seen something while you two were out together. She couldn't have vanished without you seeing."_

" _We went separate paths," Emma lied. "There was a fork in the road so we went separate ways to explore both routes. Then we were going to meet up at the end and compare paths. She never came out of her side."_

 _Mr. Castor looked at her suspiciously. For a girl who didn't want to talk about it, she sure had a pretty detailed story about why she wasn't there. "Are you sure that's what happened?"_

 _Emma nodded. "I should go, I have homework to do. My TV time is up anyway." Before Mr. Castor could say anything else, Emma was gone._

" _Are you two done talking?" Ingrid asked, looking at Emma in concern. She looked a little pale._

" _Yeah, I'm going to do my homework now."_

" _Can you grab the mail for me quickly before you get started? I'm expecting a letter from your social worker with some important information."_

 _Emma looked at Ingrid in surprise. "What kind of information?"_

" _Go look," Ingrid said, a small smile on her lips._

 _Emma practically ran out to the mailbox. She quickly opened it, pulling out the mail and flipping through, before stopping at a note and freezing. It only had two words, but Emma knew exactly what it meant._

 _ **Keep quiet**_

* * *

Emma gasped awake, her eyes flying open. Luckily, Regina wasn't next to her yet, so it must have been pretty early in the evening. She slowly sat up and rubbed her hand over her face. Another stupid memory. She couldn't even escape them in her sleep.

Sighing, she got out of bed and headed back downstairs. She didn't even look in the mirror, which she probably should have if she wanted Regina not to notice what had just happened.

As soon as she walked into the kitchen, she knew that Regina had noticed that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Regina asked. "Why are you shaking?"

Emma hadn't even realized she was.

Regina turned the temperature down on the stove before slowly walking towards Emma. "Did you remember something else?"

A nod.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

A few seconds of nothing, and then a small nod.

Regina had to force herself not to smile and jump up and down. Now they were getting somewhere.


	3. Sharing

**I'm back again! It's been so long, and I apologize that updates are so inconsistent. Life is crazy. Time to really figure out what's going on with Emma...maybe ;)**

Regina and Emma sat across from each other in the living room. Regina was looking at Emma, and Emma was staring intently at something on the floor. For once, Regina was thankful for her level of patience. Pushing Emma to talk would do nothing but shut her down.

Finally, Emma seemed to win a war within herself and looked up and Regina. "Okay."

Regina looked at her in confusion. "Okay what?"

"I'm ready to talk," Emma said softly. "About what I can at least. For the most part I don't remember anything at all. But these past few days I've been remembering things. Things that I didn't hope were true, but now I'm beginning to think they are."

"Like what?" Regina asked. Part of her wanted Emma to give her the answer, but the other part was dreading what Emma had to say.

"Her name was Avery, and she was my best friend," Emma started, choking slightly on "was". "We did everything together. She was like the little devil on my shoulder telling me to just live and have fun instead of worrying about the consequences. I was living with Ingrid at the time, so for once I was happy. Perfect home, perfect best friend, seemingly perfect life. And then it all went wrong."

Regina shuddered at the mention of Ingrid. It had taken her a long time to get over the Snow Queen and what she had done not only to Emma and the town, but also to have to deal with her evil part. "Do you know why they took her?"

"No," Emma said. "It all happened so quickly. We were out riding our bikes and suddenly a car pulled up and took her. Her bike and everything so there was no evidence. And then they realized that I was there." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I started to ride away as fast as I could, but a bike is no match for a car. I ended up having to ride into a narrow alley so they had to get out of the car and chase me on foot."

"They chased you?" Regina asked, her eyes wide. This definitely was not the story that she was expecting.

"No, there were only two of them. The driver didn't want to get out and leave the car there, and the other one was holding onto Avery so he sure didn't want to let go," Emma stated plainly. "Most likely they were trying to hit and kill me instead. But I got away and went home. A week later, Avery was all over national news. And then her dad came to visit me."

Without even realizing it, Regina had slowly been moving closer to Emma. She reached towards her and took her hand, squeezing it gently. Emma smiled at her before continuing.

"He wanted me to tell him if I knew anything about her disappearance. He knew that I had been with her that day, so he figured that I knew where she was and what had happened. I was scared that he was going to turn me in to the police or something for not telling the truth when they had originally come to interview me, so I lied again and told some story about how we had split up and she hadn't shown up where we had agreed to meet."

"Did he buy it?" Regina asked.

Emma huffed out a bitter laugh. "Not one bit. But I left the room before he could continue to question me, and then Ingrid sent me out to get the mail and there was a note telling me to keep quiet. Which of course I had already planned on doing. But now it was a threat, and I knew that I could never tell anyone what I had seen."

"As difficult as this all sounds," Regina said slowly, "none of this seems particularly scarring. And your memories are repressed of the incident. So what happened that made your brain actually block out what happened?"

Emma winced and looked away from Regina. "I don't know. I haven't recovered that bit yet. And if I'm honest, I'm not entirely sure that I want to. Recovering what I have already has been hard enough. I don't need anymore."

Regina used her hand not holding Emma's to gently grasp Emma's chin and bring her eyes to meet her own. "She's dead, Emma. Anything that you remember now will no longer put her at risk, but will be helping us to find her killers. I know that you're scared, and I would be too. But you are so strong, and you are definitely not alone. We'll do this together."

Emma nodded, the terror in her eyes depleting a little. "I don't know what triggers the memories to come back. It's just random."

"I think I know where to start," Regina said, standing up and pulling a reluctant Emma up with her. "How would you feel about a bike ride?"

* * *

"I'm not sure about this," Emma said, looking at the bike like it was going to attack her. "I haven't ridden a bike since that day. For very obvious reasons."

"That's the point," Regina said gently. "Riding might help trigger something. Something that could help solve this case."

Emma reached out and tentatively grabbed onto the handles before getting on. Regina smiled at her before getting onto her own bike. "Take a deep breath. You're not alone."

"I should probably warn you before we get too far," Emma said quickly. "Getting the memories back usually causes me to, you know, lose control."

"Don't worry," Regina said, smirking. "I won't let you fall."

Emma took a deep breath before getting on the bike and slowly starting to pedal. Her balance was a little rusty since she hadn't ridden one in awhile, but eventually she got started. She enjoyed the wind on her face, closing her eyes and smiling as her hair flew behind her. Only too late did she realize that closing her eyes was a terrible mistake.

* * *

 _Emma was in the backyard, swinging on the tire swing tied to the giant oak tree. Ingrid had noticed how much more quiet she had been over the past few weeks, but had chalked it up to teenage hormones. Emma was thankful she didn't know what was really going on._

 _It was a sunny day, and Emma closed her eyes to enjoy the slight breeze and her hair blowing behind her. Closing her eyes had been a mistake, as she soon found out when two men came out of nowhere and grabbed her; pulling her kicking and screaming to their car that was waiting in the alley behind the fence._

 _Once she was in the car, they finally let go of her. To her surprise, Emma saw Avery sitting across from her. She had a black eye and a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise she was fine. "What's going on?" Emma asked._

" _We know that you saw us take her," one of the men said. "So you have a choice to make, right here, right now. You go or she goes. One of you leaves this car, the other stays with us. Forever."_

 _Emma gulped. She didn't even like making a decision about what she wanted for breakfast. Why would she want to make this decision?_

" _Emma," Avery pleaded. "Please. I have a family to go home to."_

 _At this, Emma saw nothing but red. "What's that supposed to mean? That because I don't have a family I should take your place?"_

 _Avery's eyes widened. "No that's not what I-"_

" _I want to go," Emma said, looking at the two men behind Avery. "I made my choice. I want to go, she can stay."_

 _The two men smirked before hauling Emma to her feet and helping her out of the car before climbing back into the car and driving away. As the car sped away, Emma could swear that she heard Avery calling her name._

 _Once the horror of the situation hit Emma, and she realized what she had done, she threw up into the grass. She sank to her knees and began sobbing, a panic attack taking over her body. She couldn't breathe, but she deserved it. She had made her best friend stay with her captors simply because of her comment about Emma's lack of family. Eventually the lack of oxygen caused her to pass out._

 _When she woke up, she had no idea who Avery was, or what had happened to her._

* * *

When Emma came to, she realized that she was laying on the grass next to the sidewalk. True to her word, Regina had caught her before she hit the ground and set her down nicely in the grass. Speaking of Regina…

Emma slowly sat up, her eyes slightly brightening at the sight of Regina sitting on the sidewalk. When she saw Emma sit up, she smiled at her before moving closer. "You gave me quite a fright there for a moment."

"Sorry," Emma said sheepishly. "I warned you that it comes out of nowhere."

"So you did remember something."

"...yes."

"Are you going to tell me?"

Emma shook her head before curling in on herself and scooting away from Regina. Regina, ever patient with Emma, simply sat and waited. Eventually, she asked her question. "Why not?"

"I'm a monster," Emma whispered, so quietly that Regina almost missed it.

Regina shook her head. "You're not-"

"I was given the option to save myself or save her and I saved myself! That's a monster. She was killed because I couldn't take the fact that she had a family that missed her and no one would even care if I was gone. She said it herself. She pleaded with me to let her go because she had a family and I just got so angry that I left her with them. I should have saved her!" By the end of her rant, Emma was shaking and crying.

Regina hated seeing Emma in this much pain. She slowly moved closer, but Emma was having none of it. She shot to her feet, backing away from Regina. "Don't, I don't deserve comfort. I did this. I did this to myself."

"Listen to me," Regina said soothingly as she got to her feet. "I know that you think that you're a monster, but that does not mean that you don't deserve comfort and love. You've already suffered so much because of this."

"She's dead!" Emma shouted, starting to shake. Regina became even more concerned when white sparks started to dance on the ends of her fingertips.

"She's dead because of the real monsters out there," Regina said, slowly walking towards Emma. Whether Emma wanted to admit it or not, Regina always calmed her down. She just had to accept the help. "You are not the monster in this situation. You were young, and hurting, and no one blames you for that."

"Avery did."

"You don't know that."

"She died because of me!" Emma screamed. "Why can't you just understand that and stop trying to help me? I killed her!"

By now, people were coming out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about. Regina didn't have the energy to focus on them, she needed to get Emma calm before she tore a chunk out of someone's house.

"I killed people for sport," Regina said. "You think I don't know what a monster really is? In this time, I'd probably be considered a serial killer. But does that make you love me any less?"

"Of course not," Emma said quickly.

Regina smiled at her. "It took me a long time to finally accept the fact that I was the only one still beating myself up for what I had done years ago. I was the last one to move on. I know the situation is different for you, and I know that these memories are overwhelming. But it doesn't make me love you any less."

By now Regina had made her way close enough to grab Emma's hand. Emma didn't resist, so Regina pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. Emma finally accepted the comfort, and collapsed into Regina's arms as her emotions finally gave way to exhaustion.

"We're going to go home," Regina said soothingly. "And tomorrow, we're going to talk calmly over everything that happened today."

Emma tensed in her arms. "No one else can know."

"For now," Regina agreed. "Eventually they're going to have to know in order to help solve our current case."

A few seconds passed before Emma nodded. "Take me home."

Regina was all too happy to oblige.

 **So there you have it! That's what happened to Emma to cause her memory blackout. What did you think? Was it what you were expecting?**


	4. Closer

**It's me again! I could keep apologizing for how long it's been, but I'm sure you all are used to it by now. No need to worry, this story will get finished and continued on in other stories. It just may take me awhile!**

Shortly after arriving back home, Emma had fallen into an exhausted sleep with Regina watching over her. Every once in awhile she would groan and toss and turn in her sleep, but Regina was quick to run her fingers through Emma's hair or whisper reassurances in her ear to calm her down.

When Emma finally did wake up, she had hoped that everything from the previous day had been a dream. Unfortunately, she realized rather quickly that it wasn't. With that knowledge also came the knowledge that there was another little girl out there and only Emma knew about the men they were looking for.

"You can't hide forever," Regina said gently, pulling the covers off of Emma's face. Emma hadn't even realized that she had hidden herself away to escape from the world.

"I can't exactly walk into the station and announce that I remember everything either," Emma countered. "The minute I say something David will tell Snow and then they'll both be fawning over me and you know how I hate that."

Regina laughed. "So skip the telling them part. Just go to the people who you really want to help."

Emma shook her head before pulling the covers back up to cover her head. Liza was still missing, and her parents checked in everyday to see if there were any new developments in the case. If she told them that this whole time she had had memories buried that could solve everything...well. It couldn't be pretty.

Several beats passed before Regina spoke again. "What if we kept the source of the information anonymous?"

Emma peeked out from under the covers, confusion written all over her face. "How would we do that?"

"Someone came forward with information," Regina said, shrugging. "Who says they have to know who it was?"

"We can't lie to them."

"Who said it's lying?"

"It's withholding information regarding the kidnapping of their daughter!"

"Last time I checked, withholding information isn't lying."

"Sneaky," Emma said, smiling. "What if they ask who it is?"

"We say the person wants to stay anonymous," Regina said simply. "Like I said, they don't need to know. Besides, I think they'll be too focused on the fact that we're one step closer to finding their daughter than worrying about who had the information."

"Fine," Emma conceded before pulling the covers back up over her head. "Just let me hide for a few more minutes."

* * *

Turns out, Regina was wrong. Liza's disappearance was of course at the forefront of her parents' worries, but the fact that someone had information that they had held onto all this time bothered them more than Regina had anticipated. Hence the death grip that Emma currently had on her hand.

"Surely this person had the information this whole time," Jackson said, becoming angrier every minute. "You don't just randomly remember stuff like this!"

Mary put a hand on his arm, calming him. "What my husband is trying to say is that we just don't understand why this person waited this long, and we'd like to ask them why."

"They requested to remain anonymous," Regina said firmly. "As to why they didn't come forward until now, that is their business. I would be more joyous that we're one step closer to finding your daughter."

Emma cleared her throat to get the couple's attention. "We're actively working with the anonymous individual to get as much information as possible to devise a plan for our next steps. For now, we just wanted you to know that we're getting closer to solving this puzzle."

"The first girl," Jackson said suddenly. "I did some research to see if this had happened before. There was a girl in California who was taken just like this and she's dead. Is that going to happen to Liza?"

"Definitely not," Emma said strongly. "What happened to Avery was awful, but we aren't going to let that happen to Liza. We are going to find her and bring her home. I promise."

Jackson and Mary both nodded and thanked her and Regina before leaving, supporting each other as they walked out of the door. Emma looked at Regina, and Regina could see the emotions she had been hiding from the parents in her eyes.

"Morning!" David said cheerfully as he walked in the office. "I just saw Jackson and Mary on my way out, is everything okay?"

Emma quickly schooled her expression before giving David a small smile. "Liza is still missing. I don't think anything will be okay until we find her."

"We had an anonymous call," Regina said. "They wish to stay anonymous, but they have very valuable information concerning the case in California."

"The witness?" David asked, instantly interested. "The one who couldn't remember anything?"

Emma nodded. "She's finally come forward. Wants to help with our case to stop Liza from having to suffer like Avery did."

"Well then I guess we'd better get to work," David said grimly. "Talk me through what she said."

* * *

Later that night, Emma was snuggled up next to Regina when the doorbell rang. They both sighed, guessing that it was probably Snow coming to try and guilt trip Emma into coming over for the night.

What neither of them was expecting is for Mary to be at the door.

"Is everything okay?" Emma asked as she let Mary inside. "You haven't received any contact from the kidnappers have you?"

"No, nothing like that," Mary reassured her quickly. "Although I wish I had. Any chance to pay a ransom just to get Liza back would be taken immediately." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I came to talk to you about the case in California."

Regina quickly put her hand on Emma's back to keep her steady as she wobbled a bit. "What about the California case?"

"Well, Jackson is the one who looked into it," Mary said guiltily. "I didn't want to know anything more about it, especially if something bad had happened to the first girl. But then you said her name today and it made me remember something that may help."

"Who's name?" Regina asked, keeping a close eye on Emma who had suddenly gone very quiet.

"Avery," Mary said. "Once you said that name, I had to do some research into the case."

"You knew Avery?" Emma asked, instantly alert.

Mary nodded. "Well, not really. She was gone before I was even born."

Emma and Regina looked at each other in confusion, not knowing where this was going. Fortunately, Mary saw their confusion and elaborated.

"Avery was my older sister."


	5. Connections

**Omg it's been so long I didn't even realize! I'm so sorry! Life has been crazy as per usual but with this new semester I'll have way more free time to be able to write and keep this story more regularly updated.**

"I'm sorry, you're who?" Emma asked, feeling light-headed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Regina watching her carefully, and was thankful for the steadying hand on the small of her back.

"Avery's younger sister," Mary repeated. "My parents tried to keep it hidden from me, and I know that they basically had me to replace her but it didn't work. Our house was always broken without Avery in it."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you find out?" Regina asked.

Mary shrugged. "They were so overprotective after what happened that I was a super rebel during my teenage years. Got pregnant and had Liza with Jackson. My mom was so disappointed that she yelled that Avery would never have gotten knocked up."

"That's a messed up way to find out," Emma mumbled.

Mary chuckled bitterly. "They didn't even tell me the whole story. I don't know what's going on, but someone is targeting my family and I don't know why." She took another deep breath before looking at Emma. "You're the anonymous person that came forward, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emma said quickly. "I've never met Avery. I just went over the case file when David first brought it in."

"Emma," Regina scolded gently. "She came here for help."

Emma shook her head before walking away and into the kitchen. Regina looked at Mary and sighed. "I'm sorry we couldn't be more help. I don't know why your family is being targeted, but I guarantee that we will try and find Liza and get justice for your sister."

Mary nodded before accepting the fact that she wasn't going to get a straight answer out of Emma tonight. Regina gently closed the door behind her before going to find Emma. She was leaning over the sink, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down. How had Mary known? What was she going to do?

Regina leaned up against the counter next to Emma, reaching out to gently tuck her hair behind her ear so she could see Emma's face. "She just wants to find her daughter."

Emma winced. "I can't. I just-"

"I know. It's a lot."

"That's not it," Emma said. "Well I mean yes it is, but it's also the fact that it's my fault. Anywhere I went, anyone I talked to, always got hurt. Maybe I should go."

Regina's jaw dropped in shock. That definitely was not what she was expecting. "What?"

"You'll get hurt. Somehow. You and Henry. My parents. Everyone will get hurt someway or another. I mean you all already have, and each of the things that happened to you could come back to me somehow."

"Not true, if it's anyone's fault it's mine," Regina argued. She sighed before wrapping her arms around Emma. She was relieved when Emma accepted the comfort and leaned into her embrace. "Look, we could play the blame game forever but that will help no one. We will find the key to this case, and bring Liza home."

Key. Emma froze, an image flashing in her mind. "Oh my God."

* * *

"Bluebeard?" Regina asked, watching as Emma dug through Avery's file. "As in, the murderer of his wives that kept them in a room after he killed them?"

Emma nodded, continuing to look for the image she wanted. "I just, I know what I'm looking for."

"Should you be looking at those?" Regina asked gently, watching Emma look through the photos of Avery's body at the crime scene.

"I'm not going to break," Emma snapped.

"That's not what I was suggesting and you know it," Regina said. "You're drowning in enough guilt as it is."

"Found it!" Emma said triumphantly. She handed the picture to Regina, trying to keep the shaking of her hand hidden. Of course, she failed.

Regina took the picture from her, grabbing Emma's hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "What am I looking for?"

"Next to her on the right side," Emma said, sitting next to Regina. She leaned against her side, their hands still together. "I completely ignored it the first time around, not deeming it important. Clearly that was a mistake."

"Not your fault," Regina said firmly before looking closer at the picture. "A bloody key. Just like the one in the Bluebeard tale."

"But why?" Emma asked. "What in the world could inspire someone to replicate the Bluebeard tale?"

"Who said it isn't the real one?"

"Wait, the real Bluebeard? He can't be real."

Regina cocked an eyebrow at her. "Says the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming to the Evil Queen."

Emma laughed. "Good point. But why does he live in the real world and not here?"

Regina shrugged. "Neal lived in New York. You and Henry lived out of town for awhile. Gold left to hunt down the author. Fairy tale people can leave and come back freely."

"But why target Mary and her family?" Emma asked. "Avery could be random, but why Liza?"

"Think of the tale of Bluebeard," Regina said. "He chose the youngest daughter to force to marry him. Mary was born, making her the youngest. Then she had Liza. She was next in line."

"How do we find her?" Emma asked.

"She must be in California," Regina suggested. "That's where Avery was found, and where you both lived when she was taken."

Emma sighed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but California is a really big state. And he took Liza from Maine." Her eyes widened. "What if this is my fault?"

"Emma-"

"No, just think about it. I live in California, he takes Avery. I live in Maine and he takes Liza. He followed me."

"Or he followed Mary. Her parents didn't move after Avery's death, she moved away to Maine after marrying Jackson."

"But-"

"No," Regina said, her tone ending the argument. "Until proven otherwise, none of this is your fault. We've taken road trips before, why don't we go to California? Talk to the local police about the case, see if they have any ideas about where Liza could be."

Emma smiled. "Regina I don't know if you've noticed but we're not exactly in a real town. We can't exactly go into a police station and say that we're from Storybrooke."

"How did David get the files?" Regina asked.

"Said that he was a reporter wanting to investigate the case," Emma said. "Didn't think he could lie so well, but they gave it to him. They're hoping that it might spark someone to step forward."

"Well someone did," Regina pointed out. "Whether you think so or not, you are helping this case."

Emma went to argue, but her phone rang. She looked at it in confusion before answering. "David? Is everything okay?" She listened, her eyes widening. "You're kidding. Yeah, we'll be right there. Call Mary and Jackson." She hung up before looking at Regina with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Liza just walked over the town line."


	6. Reveal

**As promised, I give you your most recent chapter.**

"Shouldn't we wait before we go?" Regina asked, watching as Emma hurriedly gathered up all of the files and put them on her desk.

"Liza just walked over the town line and you want to wait?" Emma asked, looking at Regina in disbelief. "We need to figure out where she was and what happened to her. And of course, why she was let go. That's a big one."

Regina shifted slightly, as if weighing a decision. Emma caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "What?"

"It's nothing."

"Regina, spit it out. What."

Regina sighed. "What if someone took the deal?"

"The deal?" Emma asked, confused. Then her eyes widened as she realized what Regina was implying. "The same deal I was offered. To take her place."

Regina nodded. "All I'm saying is that maybe we should wait to go see her. Let David handle interviewing her and getting the details. You've had enough stress put on you by this situation."

"No, I need to do this," Emma said. "For Avery."

* * *

It ended up working out better that Emma and Regina stay at the station. They waited patiently, as much as they could anyway, until they heard people approaching. As Liza came into view, Emma gasped and swayed on her feet, overcome by the obvious abuse that she had endured during her time with Bluebeard. Or whoever the hell her captive was.

Regina quickly grabbed Emma and got her back upright, slowly letting go when Emma nodded that she was okay. Mary and Jackson guided Liza over to one of the chairs in front of Emma's desk, both of them standing on either side of her as if keeping watch. Regina knew without a doubt that Liza would probably never leave their sight again.

Emma came around the front of her desk and knelt in front of Liza, getting to her level. "Hi Liza, my name is Emma. I know that you've been through a lot lately, so I'm going to try and keep this as brief as possible so you can go home."

"Okay," Liza said quietly. She blinked a couple of times to clear the tears from her eyes before looking up at Emma. Regina had to give her serious points for strength.

"I don't remember much. At least not when I was taken. I was grabbed and then they knocked me out with something. When I woke up, I was in a room."

"Were you restrained?" Emma asked.

Liza shook her head. "I was on the bed, but not restrained. It was a nice room, everything was super expensive and well taken care of. Meals were brought to me by servants, and I was washed and dressed every morning. Finally, I was let out of the room, and that's when I met him."

Liza looked down again, the tears coming back full force. Jackson reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, but quickly removed it when she winced from his touch. Regina winced in sympathy. Not for Jackson, but for Liza. She knew what the fear of being touched felt like.

Reaching behind her, Emma pulled a tissue from the box and handed it to Liza, who accepted it and smiled at her graciously. "He seemed nice at first. Charming. But I quickly learned that he had a temper. Anytime that I disagreed with him, or talked when I wasn't spoken to, he would lash out. Sometimes at objects, other times at me. Whichever was closer."

"After a couple of days he showed up to breakfast with a ring of keys. Said he was going out of town for awhile, and that I could go anywhere and into any room I wanted to. Just not to the basement. That was off limits for entering. I was curious, of course, but with his temper I didn't want to know what he would do to me if he found out I had gone against his wishes."

Liza paused, and everyone in the room held their breath. Finally, Regina spoke. "How did you get away?"

Liza looked up at Regina, as if just noticing she was there. "I kept trying keys until I found one that unlocked the front door. Once I got it open, I ran outside and he was waiting for me. He was smiling, and told me to get in the car. I sat in the back, in the total dark, and when he opened the door we were at the town line. He said someone had taken my place."

Emma looked at Regina, both of them sharing a look before Emma turned her gaze back to Liza. "I think that's enough for today. If we want to talk to you further, we'll get in touch with your parents."

Liza nodded, and Mary held her close as they walked out of the station. Regina and Emma watched them go, Emma walking behind her desk and sighing as she sat down in her chair. Regina leaned up against the desk, waiting patiently for her to talk.

"I have nothing more to offer. I was there when Avery was taken, I can't account for what happened when she was with her kidnapper. I don't know anything about this guy."

"Maybe you do and just don't realize it," Regina suggested.

Emma ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know. What else could I possibly know? It's not like I ever met him."

"But what if you did," Regina pushed. "He wouldn't just be randomly targeting Avery and then Liza. It's their family. He followed them all the way across the country. That takes dedication and knowledge of the family. He had to have been around them."

"David got a description of the guy from Liza when she first crossed the town line so it was still fresh," Emma said. "Maybe if I read it I'll remember something."

Regina nodded before pushing off of the desk and walking toward the door.

"Regina."

"Hm?"

"You winced."

Regina looked at Emma in confusion. "What?"

"When Liza winced," Emma clarified. "Don't think I missed that."

Regina's jaw dropped. "Your back was turned to me!"

Emma smirked. "I was reaching for a tissue for Liza and saw the after-effect of it."

"This isn't about me. It's about you, and about Liza."

"Why did you wince?"

"Emma."

"Gina."

"Don't 'Gina' me."

"Then answer my question and quit deflecting."

Regina scoffed. "That's ironic coming from you."

"Deflecting," Emma sing-songed, grinning when Regina glared at her. "Your glares don't scare me anymore, Your Majesty."

Regina rolled her eyes at the title. "I know what it feels like. To jump when you're touched because someone wasn't gentle when they touched you. That's all."

Emma nodded in understanding. They had talked about this before, she just liked to remind Regina that sharing emotions and hardships didn't just go one way. She was going through a lot right now, and it surely wasn't easy on Regina either.

"I'm doing it because I love you," Regina said, chuckling when Emma looked at her in surprise. "I know you."

Emma got up and kissed her cheek. "I know you do. And I love you too. Now let's solve this case."


End file.
